NCAA S87: SSCR vs LPU

History Lesson: 
The Pirates jumped out to a 12-8 start, but it didn't last, as San Sebastian head coach Topex Robinson lit into his players during a timeout. The dressing down worked, and the Stags went on a huge run that had them up 64-40 with a quarter left to play. Lyceum a rally still up their sleeves though, scoring 11 straight to cut the deficit down to 64-51, but the Stags weren't about to crumble. A quick return to the court by their starters nipped the rally in the bud, allowing them to triumph 82-57. (Recap here) 

What's at Stake:

• After their overtime loss to Letran ruined their chances of sweeping the elimination round, the now 15-1 Stags will likely be out for revenge. Beyond that though, they'll look to keep their losses at just one. Any more, and the San Beda Red Lions may usurp the number one seed from them. 
• Hanging on to the possibility of a postseason berth, the guest team Lyceum Pirates are 6-10, and must win their last two games and hope the Bombers get sloppy and fall to EAC. It's a pretty long shot, but they're playing with house money right now and have nothing to lose. 

SSCR Stat to Watch : The Letran Knights bullied the Stags into their worst shooting game of the season, just 23 of 67 attempts for 34.33 percent shooting. While it's unlikely for them to shoot that poorly two games in a row, it ought to be a wake up call for them to take better shots.
SSCR Player to Watch : It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Calvin Abueva is going to come out with a chip on his shoulder after shooting a horrible 1 of 12 from the field versus Letran. Stymied by the shot-blocking of Raymond Almazan and the rest of the Letran frontline, Abueva kept forcing up floaters. The tiny Lyceum frontline will hardly pose a similar threat, so expect "The Beast" to have a more efficient outing.

LPU Stat to Watch : Lyceum used to average 75.33 points, part of that coming from 6.11 triples being made on 30.05 percent shooting. In the second round, that's down to 71.14 points on 3.29 triples on a league-worst 19.83 percent clip. Defense have learned that they can simply stay home on shooters like Chris Cayabyab and Floricel Guevarra and force the other Pirates to beat them, usually a losing proposition.
LPU Player to Watch : Mark Francisco has done a decent imitation of suspended reserve center Allan Santos, averaging 16 points and 14 rebounds in the last two games. But can he guard Calvin Abueva? Unlikely, but he'll be trying his hardest.